Currently houses and commercial buildings throughout the United States, and especially in the North, are confronted with the high cost of damage caused by failures of the structure's water delivery system. This damage occurs according to two possible scenarios: (1) leakage of a subcomponent of the water system (piping, valves, water heater, etc.) and (2) bursting of pipes due to freezing of the water carried by the system.
Damage due to leakage or freezing (referred to as an event) of any subcomponent of the water delivery system becomes especially grave if the house or building is unoccupied or unattended. Several such scenarios are identified in the list below, which is not exhaustive:                1. the event occurs when adults are at work        2. the event occurs when the family is in vacation        3. the event occurs overnight when occupants are asleep or the building is unattended or understaffed        4. the event occurs in a usually unattended room, for example in the basementThese and other scenarios can result in heavy damages and cost to the owner and the insurance carrier.        
Damage due to freezing of water within the system occurs in regions of the country where the temperature drops below freezing. This is due to the fact that water in solid form has a larger volume than water in a liquid state. Contrary to the usual behavior of most compounds, water expands rather than contracts, as it transforms from liquid to a solid state.
As in the case of water delivery system leakage, such an event may occur when the structure is unattended or when the occupants are unaware of the dangers associated with a frozen water delivery system.